Action of the Mechanism.
The action of the recoil mechanism when the gun is fired is as follows:—The gun moves to the rear 45 inches on the cradle, carrying with it the cylinder and compressing the recoil springs. The piston rod being attached to a fixed part of the carriage in front, (the cradle-head) does not move. Therefore, since the cylinder moves to the rear, the oil in it must pass from one side of the piston head to the other. The energy of recoil of the gun is therefore absorbed by the resistance which the oil offers when being forced through small openings between the notches in the piston head and the throttling bars along the inside of the cylinder and also by the resistance of the counter-recoil springs to additional compression. The energy stored up by the springs during this compression, returns the gun and cylinder to the firing or original position. This return movement is eased and regulated by the counter-recoil buffer. The piston rod pull and the spring resistance are transmitted to the carriage, but owing to the latter’s weight and the resistance opposed to the trail spade by its engagement in the ground the carriage remains stationary.